


It All Started With A Shrine

by Number_Twelve



Series: The Cat Returns Oneshots and others [18]
Category: Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns
Genre: Gen, TCR Birthday BAsh 2020, day three, enjoy the read!, ghost prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Number_Twelve/pseuds/Number_Twelve
Summary: It all started with a shrine...
Relationships: Baron Humbert von Gikkingen/Yoshioka Haru
Series: The Cat Returns Oneshots and others [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740934
Kudos: 9





	It All Started With A Shrine

**Author's Note:**

> The second day was the TCR blooper time  
> Enjoy!

Naoko had always told her daughter that ghost stories were not true. She had told her that they were made for scaring people into keeping themselves in check, and that every time her husband told her one of these, it was to discipline her. Naoko thought that scaring a child and giving them nightmares for a solid week was a cruel thing, so she told Haru those things. So the young girl could learn not to be afraid of things that didn’t even exist.

Human beings have a little problem. They will only believe in the things they see. The things they are told from a very young age, the things they are made believe. Childhood is a short stage in which children have the ability to See things that their adult counterparts can’t. That ability is taken from them as they grow, being shaped into the perfect, little adult that everyone wants to see.

Haru had grown up into a young girl. She was slowly being drawn away from her ability. She would have gone on living without knowledge of what lay beyond her eyes.

“Machida said that he bets that you can’t go to the abandoned shrine without peeing your pants.” Hiromi said. Haru, a ten-year-old with dark, brown hair and a very cute voice, pulled a face as the light turned green and the two girls walked to the other side of the road.

“Did he?”

“Yeah. He said he thought you wouldn’t have the guts to even set a foot inside.” She said.

“Well, that’s rude of him.” Haru said in a sulky voice.

“I know. But why don’t you prove him wrong?” her friend asked. “You could—”

“That would be stupid, Hiromi.” The darker brunette said, hands twisting together. “I don’t see what’s so stupid about it. You can go in and I will take a picture of you in the shrine and then we can show it to Machida.” The lighter brunette argued. “I’m telling you, it will work!” Haru could almost hear her mother’s voice in her head that she shouldn’t bother with mean kids like Machida, but it made her furious that the boy had said those things behind her back. She puffed out her chest.

“I will do it for my dignity!” she cried, placing her hands on her hips. Several people gave her amused looks.

“Good!” Hiromi said excitedly, grabbing her arm and dragging her along.

About half an hour later, they were standing at the entrance of the small fence that surrounded the abandoned shrine. Hiromi had borrowed her mother’s phone to take the picture and was holding it at the ready.

“Should I make a video of it? Then we can rub it in Machida’s sorry—”

“Okay, okay. I get the point. Just start recording so we can get it done with.”

“’kay!” Haru took a deep breath before stepping through the Shrine’s fence’s gate. She looked up at the rows of steps she had to climb and took in a shaky breath as she walked up to them, stepping over muddy puddles of water and broken pieces of statues.

“One Mississippi, two Mississippis, three Mississippis…” She stepped up the stairs, the hairs on her neck raising as she reached the last step. She tugged on the broken door and it easily swung open, creaking as it went. She looked back at Hiromi, who gave her a cheery thumbs up.

Then she stepped inside. Two steps in and the door swung closed behind her with a slam, causing her to jump and shriek.

“Haru!” she heard Hiromi call from outside.

“I- I’m fine!” she called back in a shaky voice. But she was not. The shrine thankfully had a few windows, but they let in very little light and some of them had been boarded up. There was dust floating in the air, and she could see it due to the dim light. She turned to the door and tried tugging it open, hearing Hiromi do the same on the other side.

“I can’t open it!” Hiromi said in a scared voice.

“It’s ok.” No it’s not. “I will try to find a way to open it.” But what if you can’t? What if—? Her thoughts were cut off by a gust of wind sweeping into the shrine through a window. She wrapped her arms around her chest, shivering at how cold the air was as it swept around her.

“Hiromi?” she called. Silence. “Hiromi?”

“What is a little human doing inside an old Spirit Shrine?” she jumped as a figure swept up from the floor, made from mist and dust. She took a step back.

“I-I—” But Haru couldn’t speak. It was terribly cold around her, and she felt as if her lungs would freeze. The figure stepped towards her and she coughed, inhaling dust and cold air.

“It’s rude to just enter a spirit’s home, you know?” the figure said. “But you look rather young. I shall make an exception for you, because your parents probably didn’t tell you that it’s rude to do so.”

“Wh-what are you?” Haru wheezed.

“I am the guardian of this shrine.” The figure said, sweeping past her. It opened the door with ease, stepping outdoors. “Come on. You want to be able to return to your world.”

“What do you—?” she cut herself off as she saw what was outside. There was no Hiromi. No streets. No people. No cars racing by. Only thousands of other shrines, with humane-like creatures. But what little boy had bat wings on his back? What woman could have goat horns on her head? What kind of man could drift instead of walk? And there were shadowy and mist creatures around them as well.

“What is this place?” Haru asked quietly.

“The Realm of the Night. All the creatures here are Night creatures or ex-humans.” The figure answered. “I am a protector spirit. Follow me. You don’t have much time.” She quickly followed the figure, other creatures shooting her curious looks and the word human being whispered around her. She kept her eyes on the Shrine’s protector spirit’s back to avoid making eye contact.

That didn’t stop the hand that shot out of nowhere to grab her arm. She gasped as she was turned around to face a handsome, young man with sharp canines in show as he smirked down at her.

“Such a pretty little neck you have,” he said. Haru let out a terrified whimper, trying to pull herself away. “I wonder how your blood will—”

“Hands off the human being.” A new voice said. Haru and the man both turned their heads to see a man dressed in a light, grey suit and top hat… and a cat’s head and tail. He was leaning on a cane and his emerald green eyes were set on the man holding Haru’s arm.

“What for?” the man said.

“She’s not to be a Vampire’s dinner.” The cat-man said. “And she was with a Shrine’s protector Spirit. Let her go.” The Vampire gave him a scowl and reluctantly let go of Haru’s arm. He hissed, disappearing into a cloud of bats. Haru stumbled back, trembling. The cat-man put a gloved hand on her shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“No. Not really.” Haru answered, looking up at him.

“You will be as soon as we get you back to your own world. Come.” He walked forward, his hand not leaving Haru’s shoulder as he walked. The Shrine’s spirit had just realized that she had gone missing and had turned around to see them approaching it.

“The child was rudely taken by a Vampire.” The cat-man explained, letting go of Haru’s shoulder.

“Thank you.” The spirit said. “I was looking for you. She needs help. She was in my shrine and she got dragged into the Realm by mistake.”

“I thought so.” The cat-man said.

“You will help her?”

“Anything a spirit like yourself asks of me, I shall do.” The cat-man said.

“Good. I trust you to get her back and do what’s required. The board will be unhappy with me if they find out about this.”

“I will.”

“Good.” The spirit dissolved from sight and Haru saw the dust being lifted by the wind, flying back to the Shine.

“Let’s get going.” The cat-man said. “We mustn’t lose time.” Haru wordlessly set off after him, keeping close to his side and cowering from the hungry looks some of the other creatures were giving her.

“My name is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. I am part of the Bureau, an association dedicated to helping others with their problems, big or small.” The cat-man said. “What is your name?”

“Haru. Haru Yoshioka.” Haru replied in a whisper. Baron somehow hear it.

“Lovely, Miss Haru.” He said, turning a corner between two Shrines. “Meet Muta and Toto, the other two members of the Bureau.”

Toto and Muta just happened to be a massive magpie and a fat, also massive, cream-white cat. Haru couldn’t help but stare at the two of them.

“Heya,” the cat grunted, making Haru jump back, colliding with Baron. She muttered a hurried apology, trembling.

“She looks a sigh. White as a sheet, as well.” The magpie commented, peering at her.

“Maybe she’s horrified at your appearance.” The cat said with a grin.

“Or maybe she confused you with a marshmallow and now realizes that you are a fat cat.” The magpie shot back.

“We don’t have time for this. Miss Haru needs to be returned to the human world.” Baron said.

“Ahaha, that’s something for a birdbrain to say!”

“Has someone replaced your snail shaped brain with a regurgitated fluff ball???”

“Apologies for this.” Baron told Haru as the other two continued to argue. “They are always like this.” He turned to the other two and snapped his fingers. Their mouths snapped closed.

“Mmmmmfffff!” Muta argued.

“Behave yourselves. We don’t have time for this.” He said. He gave them both a hard look and the two animals hastily nodded their heads. He snapped his fingers and their mouths opened.

"So, um, how will I…?" Haru looked down at her feet when Baron met her eyes.

"Get you back home?" He asked kindly. She nodded, still not making eye contact with the Gentle-cat. "We will take you to the sanctuary and you can walk out the doorway that leads to the human world. Easy as it sounds, it's a long way back and, well, I think you saw how welcoming Night creatures can be." he said.

"You mean as if the Vampire?"

"Yes. You must stay by our side at all times, understood?" She looked up at his emerald eyes and saw that this was no joking matter. The ten year old nodded, her little mouth formed in a thin line. "Good. In that case, let's get going."

Baron put a hand on her shoulder once more and leaded her outside the alley between shrines and onto the semi-busy streets of the Night Realm. Haru glanced back at the other two animals. The magpie spread his huge wings and took off, flying above them, and the fat cat walked behind them, reminding Haru very much of a bodyguard. Several Night Creatures threw them curious (and some hungry) looks, but no one dared approach them. Haru wondered if they were well known there.

"We are here," Baron said after a while, as they reached an arch next to a Shrine. "The entrance will only allow us to enter and not any other Night Folk, so you have nothing to fear." As he said these words, Toto swooped down and vanished through the arch, blue light pooling around the Magpie's black feathers. Baron held Haru's shoulder a little firmer as they stepped through. Haru gasped when she saw what was at the other side.

It was like a little village, built around a stone courtyard, a stone pillar in the center. She looked around at all the beautiful houses, but her gaze was drawn to a green and cream yellow colored little house. She then realized that she was taller than Baron.

"Now, usually I would invite you to tea, but I am afraid you must make your leave." Baron said. "But I am sure that we will meet again sometime soon. All you have to do is walk out the pillar and you will find your self back at the Shrine. You must knock twice on the door and it will unlock itself. After that... your memories of the Night Realm and The Sanctuary will be gone."

"What? Why?"

"For your own safety. Now, you must go. We will meet again." He said. Haru nodded.

"Bye, Baron, Muta and Toto!" she said with a little wave. Then she stepped through and found herself back at the shrine. She knocked twice on the door and it swung open, revealing Hiromi on the other side. Her memories of the Night Realm were gone as soon as the outside world's wind touched her skin.

"I have a feeling that we will meet again. She looks like the kind of person that will stick her nose in other people's business." Muta grunted, more in a joking manner. Little did he know that it would actually happen, years later.


End file.
